Nintendo says Switch production is ramping up as WSJ accuses company of ‘scarcity by design’

If you want to purchase Nintendo’s hot new Switch console, you have two options right now. First, you can head to Amazon and pay a premium to have one shipped to your door in two days. This is the only way to guarantee that you get a Nintendo Switch in your hands without jumping through hoops. The other option is to constantly check in with your local brick and mortar retailers like GameStop and Target, which have been getting shipments more frequently of late. Of course, you’ll still have to battle all the other people who rush out to stores each time news of new Switch shipments emerges.

The good news is that Nintendo appears to be making good on its promise, and Switch stock is being refreshed at stores quicker now than it was even a month ago. And the better news is that Nintendo says it isn’t done ramping up production, and it plans to kick things into high gear ahead of the holidays.

In a report that not-so-subtly suggests multiple times that Nintendo is intentionally limiting the number of Switch consoles it ships in order to manufacture additional hype, The Wall Street Journal relays news that Nintendo is doing everything it can to further increase production ahead of the holiday shopping season.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure everyone who wants to buy a Nintendo Switch system can do so,” a Nintendo spokesperson said in a statement to WSJ. “We will ramp up production for the holiday period, which has been factored into our forecast.”

That forecast, mind you, is still for 10 million units during the Switch’s first year of sales. Meanwhile, The Journal says “people involved in the supply chain say they have been told to prepare for 18 million units.” With Apple’s iPhone 8 and two more iPhone models now being mass-produced, Nintendo has to fight for space in factories where nearly all attention has turned to Apple. If it can manage to ramp up production to get anywhere near the 18 million unit mark, it will be a truly impressive feat.

Nintendo shares have climbed more than 50% since the release of the Switch back in March, but the holiday season will be a true test for the reinvigorated Japanese gaming giant.